The benefit of being a seasoned athlete is the experience received when helping other players develop their individual skills in order to improve the overall team.

This year’s softball team grew stronger thanks to the junior and senior veteran players who were willing to work with the rookies to build up their team.

With strong player leadership and the motivation of coach Robert Foshee to produce a winning team, many players were asked to try different positions than what they were used to.

Co-captain Christina Cabias stepped out of her best position of shortstop to play catcher – immediately improving the games by minimizing errors on the field. Other veteran players followed and a much better infield was set.

Due to position changes in the field, I was forced to move to short, a position I had never played. At first it was a bit difficult but once I got comfortable in it, the results were good.

These results did not show in a win-loss column as our overall record reflected more losses. But, we worked better as a team, improving our skills and attitudes. Our errors started to decrease as we improved in our new positions.

The 2006 softball season ended not necessarily as a winning season, but this team is well on our way to a promising season in 2007 with the newcomers and their more advanced skills.

But – we will definitely need to find a new pitcher, as the loss of our only senior player, Lindsay Brush, will be hard to replace.